Grate fingers in flue path

ABSTRACT

A cooking device includes a cooktop, an oven provided under the cooktop, a burner grate on a top surface of the cooktop, and a flue path connecting an oven cavity of the oven and a discharge opening. The flue path is located adjacent the cooktop. The burner grate comprises at least one grate finger extending over the discharge opening of the flue path. The grate finger comprises a drip edge that is located above the discharge opening of the flue path, and the drip edge is configured to allow a condensed flue gas to drip from the drip edge into the flue path through the discharge opening.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

Embodiments of the present invention relate to a cooking device with aburner grate having grate fingers extended over a flue path of an ovenprovided in the vicinity of a cooktop.

Description of Related Art

A domestic cooking appliance, such as a free-standing gas range, has acooktop and an oven cavity beneath the cooktop. The range can have aflue path that discharges a flue gas from the oven cavity near thecooktop. For example, the range can have a backsplash located at therear of the cooktop with a vent located in the backsplash fordischarging the flue gas.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The following summary presents a simplified summary in order to providea basic understanding of some aspects of the devices discussed herein.This summary is not an extensive overview of the devices discussedherein. It is not intended to identify critical elements or to delineatethe scope of such devices. Its sole purpose is to present some conceptsin a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description thatis presented later.

In accordance with one aspect of the present disclosure, provided is acooking device having a cooktop, an oven provided under the cooktop, aburner grate on a top surface of the cooktop, and a flue path connectingan oven cavity of the oven and a discharge opening that is locatedadjacent the cooktop. The burner grate comprises at least one gratefinger extending over the discharge opening of the flue path. The gratefinger comprises a drip edge that is located above the discharge openingof the flue path, and the drip edge is configured to allow a condensedflue gas to drip from the drip edge into the flue path through thedischarge opening.

In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, provided isa cooktop burner grate comprising, a grate frame and at least one gratefinger extending from the grate frame. A part of the grate fingercomprises a substantially convergent shape extending downward from a topsurface of the grate finger.

In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, provided isa cooktop burner grate comprising a grate frame and at least one gratefinger extending outside of the grate frame. The grate finger comprisesa drip edge extending downward from the top surface of the grate finger.A cross-section of the grate finger, taken in a plane perpendicular to aplanar expanse of the grate frame and perpendicular to the direction inwhich the grate finger extends from the grate frame, comprisesconvergent sides defining at least a portion of a substantially invertedisosceles triangular cross-sectional shape.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cooking device of the presentapplication.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the cooking device of the presentapplication.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a center grate of the presentapplication.

FIG. 4 is a side view of a grate finger of the center grate extendingover a discharge opening of a flue path provided in the cooking deviceof the present application.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of grate fingers of the center grateextending over the discharge opening of the flue path provided in thecooking device of the present application.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged perspective view of the grate fingers of thecenter grate of the present application.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged bottom view of the grate fingers of the centergrate of the present application.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged perspective bottom view of the grate finger of thecenter grate of the present application.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the grate finger, taken in a planeperpendicular to a top surface of the grate fingers and at line X-X ofFIG. 6 of the present application.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the grate fingers, taken in a planeperpendicular to a top surface of the grate fingers and at line Y-Y ofFIG. 6 of the present application.

FIG. 11 is a top view of the grate fingers of the center grate and thedischarge opening of the flue path provided in the cooking device of thepresent application.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the grate fingers of the center grateand the discharge opening of the flue path provided in the cookingdevice of the present application.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention relate to a cooking device, such asa gas oven, an electric oven, etc. with a cooktop provided above theoven. Water vapor in a flue gas can condense on a cooktop, or burnergrates on the cooktop, and drip onto the cooktop. Such condensation canbe messy and cause staining on the cooktop. The problem becomes evenworse during the self-cleaning process of the oven. Therefore, it wouldbe desirable to reduce or substantially eliminate the collection ofwater vapor from oven flue exhaust onto the cooktop.

The present invention will now be described with reference to thedrawings, wherein like reference numerals are used to refer to likeelements throughout. It is to be appreciated that the various drawingsare not necessarily drawn to scale from one figure to another nor insidea given figure, and in particular that the size of the components arearbitrarily drawn for facilitating the understanding of the drawings. Inthe following description, for purposes of explanation, numerousspecific details are set forth in order to provide a thoroughunderstanding of the present invention. It may be evident, however, thatthe present invention can be practiced without these specific details.Additionally, other embodiments of the invention are possible and theinvention is capable of being practiced and carried out in ways otherthan as described. The terminology and phraseology used in describingthe invention is employed for the purpose of promoting an understandingof the invention and should not be taken as limiting.

FIG. 1 illustrates a cooking device 100 (e.g., a freestanding range)that includes a cooktop 102, an oven 104 provided under the cooktop 102,and a burner grate 110. The cooktop 102 can include a burner 112 and arecessed area 114 on the upper surface. Examples of the oven 104 includea gas oven (e.g., a gas convection oven), an electric oven, an infraredoven, and a steam oven. The burner grate 110 is detachably provided onthe top of the cooktop 102. The burner grate 110 can be a singleintegral grate or divided to two or more separate and removableportions.

The cooking device 100 further includes a flue path 200 (FIG. 2)connecting the oven 104, e.g., an oven cavity 202 of the oven 104, and adischarge opening 108 provided in the vicinity of the cooktop 102 nearthe burner grate 110. The discharge opening 108 can be provided at theupper surface of the oven 104. In one embodiment, the discharge opening108 is provided in a backsplash 116 adjacent the cooktop 102 as shown,or other areas on or adjacent the cooktop 102. More than one dischargeopenings 108 can be provided for the flue path 200, if desired. A fluegas 204 (e.g., vapor) is typically generated in the oven 104 duringcooking The flue gas 204 is discharged from the oven cavity 202 of theoven 104 through the discharge opening 108 and comes in contact with theburner grate 110.

In an exemplary embodiment, the burner grate 110 is separated into threeportions including a left portion 110 a, a center portion 110 b, and aright portion 110 c. In another exemplary embodiment, the cooktop 102includes a plurality of gas fueled burners 112 (e.g., four, five etc.),which can be positioned adjacent each side of the cooktop 102 and/or inthe center of the cooktop. Each burner 112 is provided with a recessedarea 114 surrounding the burner 112 to catch spills from cookingutensils while being used. It is appreciated that any suitable number ofseparated burner grates 110 (e.g., greater or fewer than three separatedportions of burner grate 110) and/or any suitable number of burners(e.g., greater or fewer than four burners 112) could be employed inalternative embodiments of the present application.

FIG. 2 illustrates the flue path 200 that is provided to connect an ovencavity 202, a discharge opening 108 provided in the vicinity of thecooktop 102, and the burner grate 110. The discharge opening 108exhausts a flue gas 204, that can include water vapor, from the ovencavity 202 as shown by arrows. The discharge opening 108 can be angledto an upper surface of the cooktop 102 or can be flush with the uppersurface of the cooktop 102. For example, the discharge opening 108 ofthe flue path can be oriented at an obtuse angle with respect to thecooktop 102. The obtuse angle that the discharge opening 108 would formwith the cooktop can be seen in FIG. 4. As shown in FIG. 11, thedischarge opening 108 can be substantially a rectangle shape or anellipse having a longitudinal side L and a short hand side S that arewide enough to discharge the flue gas 204 from the oven cavity 202.

FIG. 3 illustrates the center grate 110 b of the present applicationprovided on the center of the cooktop 102. The burner grate 110 has oneor more grate fingers 306. In particular, the burner grate 110 includesa grate frame 300, a number of support grate bars 302, a number of gratelegs 304 extending downward from the grate frame 300, and grate fingers306 extending toward outside from the burner grate 110 beyond the grateframe 300 of the burner grate 110. Four or more grate legs 304 can beprovided to evenly support the center grate 110 b on the cooktop 102.

FIG. 4 illustrates a side view of the grate fingers 306 extending overthe discharge opening 108 in one embodiment of the present application.FIG. 5 illustrates a perspective view showing the grate fingers 306 andthe discharge opening 108 in this embodiment of the present application.In this embodiment, the grate fingers 306 extend over the majority ofthe discharge opening 108 in a front-to-rear direction of the oven. Inone embodiment of the present application, the length of each of thegrate fingers 306 is long enough to reach substantially from the frontside to the rear side of the discharge opening 108. In anotherembodiment of the present application, the length of each of the gratefingers 306 is longer than the front-to-rear width of the dischargeopening 108, to cover substantially the entire width of the dischargeopening 108. In still another embodiment of the present application, thelength of each of the grate fingers 306 is at least the half of thefront-to-rear width of the discharge opening 108.

FIGS. 6-8 illustrate an exemplary structure of the grate fingers 306.Each of the grate fingers 306 can have a top surface 308 that is inparallel with a top surface 310 of the burner grate 110, e.g., the grateframe 300 and/or the support grate bars 302. In another example, each ofthe grate fingers 306 can have a top surface 308 substantially coplanarwith a top surface 310 of the burner grate 110, e.g., the grate frame300 and/or the support grate bars 302. The width of the top surface 308of the grate finger 306 is substantially same as the width of thesupport grate bar 302. Under the top surface 308, each of the gratefingers 306 has a drip edge 400 and a drip point 402 extended downwardfrom the top surface 308 of each of the grate fingers 306 toward thedischarge opening 108 of the flue path 200.

The drip edge 400 has the drip point 402 at a lowest point of the dripedge 400. When the burner grate 110 is provided on the cooktop 102, thedrip edge 400 has the drip point 402 at a point that is closest to thedischarge opening 108 of the flue path 200. As shown in FIG. 10, whenviewed in a direction perpendicular to the top surface 308 of the gratefingers and perpendicular to a direction in which each of the gratefingers 306 extends rearward from the grate frame 300 toward thedischarge opening, a width of each of the grate fingers becomes narrowerfrom the top surface 308 toward the drip edge 400.

In one embodiment of the present application, at least a part of each ofthe grate fingers 306 has a substantially convergent shape e.g., asubstantially multi-sided pyramid shape and that is preferably invertedso that angled surfaces are oriented generally downward, toward thedischarge opening 108 of the flue path 200. The convergent shape of thedownwardly-extended portion of grate fingers can have various shapes, solong as it effectively forms a drip edge and drip point located abovethe discharge opening of the flue. Example convergent shapes includeso-called regular and irregular pyramids, right pyramids, obliquepyramids, and the like.

In certain embodiments, an entire shape of a lower portion of each ofthe grate fingers 306 (beneath the grate finger top surface) is asubstantially convergent shape, e.g., a substantially invertedthree-sided pyramid shape or a substantially inverted four-sided pyramidshape. The convergent shape extends downward from the top surface 308.One side of the substantially convergent shape is in parallel to theupper surface 308. One vertex (e.g., a lowest vertex) of the convergentshape is the drip point 402. One edge of the convergent shape extendingdownward from the top surface 308 of the grate fingers 306 is the dripedge 400. A width of the extended portion 404 becomes narrower in thedownward direction, toward the flue discharge opening. It can be seen inFIG. 10 that the width of the extended portion 404 of the grate finger306 can vary between no width and a width same as the width of the topsurface 308 of the grate finger 306.

In an embodiment of the present application, a cross-section of thegrate finger 306 taken in a plane perpendicular to a planar expanse ofthe grate frame, or for example perpendicular to a top surface 308 ofthe grate finger 306, and passing through the drip point 402 includes asubstantially triangular shape, e.g., a substantially invertedtriangular shape. The drip point 402 is a vertex of the triangularshape. When the plane is in parallel to a direction in which the gratefinger 306 extends from the grate frame 300 rearward toward thedischarge opening, the cross-section of the grate finger 306 is thesubstantially triangular shape in which a portion of one vertex of thesubstantially triangular shape is removed by the grate frame 300. Forexample, as shown in FIG. 9, a cross-section of the grate finger 306,taken in a plane perpendicular to the top surface 308 of the gratefinger 306 and at line X-X of FIG. 6, includes a substantiallytriangular shape, e.g., a substantially inverted triangular shape inwhich a portion of one vertex of the substantially triangular shape isremoved by the grate frame 300. The drip edge 400 is one side of thetriangular shape.

When the plane is perpendicular to the direction in which the gratefinger 306 extends from the grate frame 300, the cross-section of thegrate finger 306 includes a substantially triangular shape (e.g., asubstantially inverted triangular shape) or a substantially isoscelestriangular shape (e.g., a substantially inverted isosceles triangularshape). One vertex of the triangular shape can be the drip point 402.For example, as shown in FIG. 10, a cross-section of the grate finger306, taken in a plane perpendicular to the top surface 308 of the gratefinger 306 and at line Y-Y of FIG. 6, includes a substantiallytriangular shape (e.g., a substantially inverted triangular shape) or asubstantially isosceles triangular shape (e.g., a substantially invertedisosceles triangular shape).

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, when the burner grate 110 is provided on thecooktop 102, the drip point 402 is provided above the discharge opening108 and located above or within the front-to-rear width of the dischargeopening 108. The drip point 402 can be provided centrally above thedischarge opening 108 or provided closer to the grate frame 300 so thatthe drip edge 400 is long enough to cover the width of the dischargeopening 108 to effectively collect the flue gas 204.

The drip edge 400 and the drip point 402 face the discharge opening 108.As shown in FIG. 2, some flue gas 204 exhausted from the oven cavity 202through the flue path 200 contacts the grate fingers 306. The gratefingers 306, at least initially until sufficiently warmed by the fluegas 204, tend to cool and liquefy the flue gas 204. The liquefied fluegas 204, i.e., condensation, migrates toward the drip edge 400, fallsdown toward the drip point 402, and gathers near the drip point 402. Thegathered condensation drips down and goes back to the flue path 200.Even if the condensation is re-vaporized during the cooking, the debrisis combusted during the cleaning cycle at the high temperature.

In conventional ovens, water vapor in the flue gas can condense on theburner grates and/or cooktop. If the water vapor condenses on the burnergrates, it tends to drip onto the cooktop. Such condensation can bemessy as it tends to mix with food particles collected on the cooktopand can leave stains even on a clean cooktop. The problem of stainingcan be worse during self-cleaning due to the amount of smoke present inthe flue gas. The grate fingers 306 discussed here are designed to allowmoisture in the flue gas 204 to condense onto the grate fingers 306 anddrip into the flue path 200, rather than onto the cooktop 102. Toachieve this, the grate fingers 306 include downwardly sloping surfacesterminating at one or more drip edges 400 that are angled toward a locallow point (i.e., the drip point 402). The drip point 402 and at leastsome portions of the drip edges 400 are located vertically above thedischarge opening 108, so that liquid condensed on the grate fingers 306will drip into the flue path 200.

In embodiments, edges and/or vertices in the substantially convergentshape, the substantially multi-sided pyramid shape, the substantiallytriangular shape, and the substantially isosceles triangular shape asherein described can be angular. In other embodiments, those verticesand/or edges can be rounded so long as they are effective to facilitatecollecting condensation from the flue gas 204 with the drip edge 400 andfalling the condensation from the drip point 402.

In one embodiment, the discharge opening 108 is angled to the cooktop102. In another embodiment, the discharge opening 108 is flush with thesurface of the cooktop 102. In one embodiment, the angle of thedischarge opening 108 to the cooktop 102 is an obtuse angle between 90°and 200°, e.g., between 110° and 195°, between 130° and 190, or between150° and 180°, so that the drip edge 400 and the drip point 402 can bepositioned above or within the discharge opening 108.

In one embodiment, the grate fingers 306 are integral to the grate frame300 and/or the support grate bars 302. The grate fingers 306, the grateframe 300, and the support grate bars 302 can be made of the samematerial. A material that effectively cools the flue gas 204 coming fromthe oven cavity 202 is preferably selected. Example materials of theburner grate 110 include cast iron, brass, steel, stainless steel, orceramic. In one embodiment, the grate fingers 306, the support gratebars 302, and the grate frames 300 are unitedly cast in one mold. Thishelps to reduce manufacturing cost without in need of creating and/orassembling separate pieces of grate fingers 306 and the grate frame 300.

As illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, the grate fingers 306 extend towardoutside from the burner grate 110 beyond the grate frame 300. The topsurface 308 of the grate fingers 306 is contiguous to the top surface310 of the grate frame 300 and/or the support grate bars 302. Whenviewed in a direction perpendicular to the top surface 308 of the gratefingers 306 and perpendicular to a direction in which the grate finger306 extends from the grate frame 300, the top surface 308 of the gratefingers 306 is substantially coplanar with the top surface 310 of thegrate frame 300 and/or the support grate bars 302, or the top surface308 of the grate fingers 306 is parallel to the top surface 310 of thegrate frame 300 and/or the support grate bars 302.

FIGS. 11 and 12 illustrate an exemplary arrangement of the grate fingers306 and the discharge opening 108. In one embodiment, the grate fingers306 are provided at regular intervals in the longitudinal direction L ofthe discharge opening 108. The interval between the grate fingers 306can be the same as the interval between the support grate bars 302. Theinterval between the grate fingers 306 can be narrower than the intervalbetween the support grate bars 302 so that more grate fingers 306 areprovided to effectively liquefy the flue gas 204. When more than onedischarge opening 108 is provided for the flue path 200, the gratefingers 306 can be provided to each of the discharge openings 108 in thesame distance.

It should be evident that this disclosure is by way of example and thatvarious changes may be made by adding, modifying or eliminating detailswithout departing from the fair scope of the teaching contained in thisdisclosure. The invention is therefore not limited to particular detailsof this disclosure except to the extent that the following claims arenecessarily so limited.

What is claimed is:
 1. A cooking device comprising: a cooktop; an ovenprovided under the cooktop; a burner grate on a top surface of thecooktop; and a flue path connecting an oven cavity of the oven and adischarge opening located adjacent the cooktop, said burner gratecomprising at least one grate finger extending over the dischargeopening of the flue path, said grate finger comprising a drip edge thatis located above the discharge opening of the flue path, the drip edgebeing configured to allow a condensed flue gas to drip from the dripedge into the flue path through the discharge opening.
 2. The cookingdevice of claim 1, wherein the grate finger comprises a grate finger topsurface that is parallel to a top surface of the burner grate, and thedrip edge extends downward from the grate finger top surface toward thedischarge opening of the flue path.
 3. The cooking device of claim 1,wherein the drip edge further comprises a drip point at a location alongthe drip edge closest to the discharge opening of the flue path, thedrip point is configured to allow condensed flue gas gather to the drippoint and to drip from the drip point into the flue path through thedischarge opening.
 4. The cooking device of claim 2, wherein at least apart of the grate finger comprises a substantially convergent shapeextending downward, and a vertex of the convergent shape is a drippoint.
 5. The cooking device of claim 4, wherein a cross section of thegrate finger taken in a plane perpendicular to a planar expanse of theburner grate becomes narrower toward the drip edge.
 6. The cookingdevice of claim 4, wherein a cross-section of the grate finger taken ina plane perpendicular to the top surface of the burner grate and passingthrough the drip point includes a substantially triangular shape.
 7. Thecooking device of claim 1, wherein the discharge opening of the fluepath is oriented at an obtuse angle with respect to the cooktop.
 8. Thecooking device of claim 1, wherein the oven is a gas convection oven. 9.The cooking device of claim 1, wherein the grate finger is integral withthe burner grate, and the grate finger and the burner grate are made ofthe same material.
 10. The cooking device of claim 1, wherein the gratefinger and the burner grate are unitedly cast in one mold.
 11. Thecooking device of claim 1, said burner grate comprising a plurality ofsaid grate fingers, each comprising a respective drip edge located abovethe discharge opening of the flue path and configured to allow condensedflue gas to drip therefrom into said flue path through the dischargeopening.
 12. A cooktop burner grate comprising: a grate frame; and atleast one grate finger extending from the grate frame, wherein a part ofthe grate finger comprises a substantially convergent shape extendingdownward.
 13. The cooking burner grate of claim 12, said convergentshape comprising a drip edge extending downward, and a drip pointdisposed at a lowest location along said drip edge.
 14. The cookingdevice of claim 12, wherein a cross section of the grate finger taken ina plane perpendicular to a planar expanse of the burner grate becomesnarrower toward the drip edge.
 15. The cooking device of claim 12,wherein a cross-section of the grate finger, taken in a planeperpendicular to a top surface of the burner grate and passing throughthe drip point, includes a substantially triangular shape.
 16. Thecooktop burner grate of claim 12, wherein the grate finger is integralwith the grate frame of the burner grate, and the grate finger and thegrate frame are made of the same material.
 17. The cooktop burner grateof claim 12, wherein the grate finger and the grate frame are unitedlycast in one mold.
 18. A cooktop burner grate comprising: a grate frame;and at least one grate finger extending outside of the grate frame,wherein the grate finger comprises a drip edge extending downward, andwherein a cross-section of the grate finger, taken in a planeperpendicular to a planar expanse of the grate frame and perpendicularto the direction in which the grate finger extends from the grate frame,comprises convergent sides defining at least a portion of asubstantially inverted triangle.
 19. The cooktop burner grate of claim18, wherein the grate finger is integral with the grate frame of theburner grate, and the grate finger and the grate frame are made of thesame material.
 20. The cooktop burner grate of claim 18, wherein thegrate finger and the grate frame are unitedly cast in one mold.
 21. Thecooktop burner grate of claim 18, comprising a plurality of said gratefingers each having said cross-section.